Performance Features Ergonomics Value PRICE $1,799 AT A GLANCE Plus Wide color gamut Superb lens with state-of-the-art autofocus Auto keystone correction Comprehensive suite of non-global calibration controls Stylish, conversation-starting design Minus Physical placement determines image size Input lag is tolerable only for casual gaming Lacks codecs like VVC likely to be used with future 8K content No carrying handle THE VERDICT A quality 300" image from a grab-n-go projector? You’ll have fun, fun, fun until daddy takes the C1 away! (Humblest apologies to Brian Wilson and Mike Love). Always ..read more

Home theater comes in many shapes and sizes, but one constant is that it could be a more portable experience. But it’s not impossible! Elite recently sent an ezCinema Tab-Tension CineGrey 4D screen to evaluate, which is an excellent match for an Anker Nebula Mars 3 projector ($1,099) that I have on hand. The Mars 3 has a built-in battery with up to five hours of playtime, although using the projector at its full light output lowers that to around two hours. Regarding portable entertainment, you can do much with a phone or tablet, a projector, and this Elite screen. If you are having a party ..read more

Performance Features Ergonomics Value PRICE $2,999 AT A GLANCE Plus Vertical and horizontal lens shift Very good pre and post calibration 4LED means no laser speckle Rich with features Minus Disappointing contrast performance Lackluster sharpness and focus uniformity Fan noise is loud at full brightness WCG filter cuts light and disables dynamic contrast THE VERDICT The BenQ HT4550i takes a valiant swing at making a home theater but is held back by its limited contrast. Outstanding pre and post calibration performance, 2D lens shift, and an included Android TV streamer make it one of the easi ..read more

In just a few short years the home projector landscape has undergone a radical revolution in terms of price and selection. There's the proliferation of UST (ultra-short-throw) DLP projectors with laser light sources over the past few years. Even more recently, a new breed of compact and powerful "lifestyle" standard-throw models has emerged. These produce bright and sharp images, often with a level of fidelity previously unimaginable at their price point. Meanwhile, the dedicated home theater projectors from industry stalwarts like Epson, JVC, and Sony have transitioned to laser light sources ..read more

Performance Features Ergonomics Value PRICE $1,749 AT A GLANCE Plus Bright image with proper screen pairing Low gaming lag Portability Quiet Operation Minus Placement woes with short-throw lens Throw-away audio Manual Focus HDMI 2.0 only Ineffective CMS THE VERDICT It may be difficult to wrestle it away from the kids when they are gaming, however, for serious movie watching, that may not bother you. Big and bright for gaming, there are better options from Optoma for cinema-centric viewers. Optoma boasts of being both the top 4K UHD projector brand globally and the number one Digital Light Pro ..read more

Performance Features Ergonomics Value PRICE $3500 (without screen) AT A GLANCE Plus Sits close to wall Very bright Low input lag No rainbow effect Accurate colors Minus Limited color gamut Can't be calibrated No HDMI 2.1 2-way pixel shift No 3D THE VERDICT Serving up to 150 inches of viewing, Epson's new triple-LCD UST blows away the UST competition with its category-leading high brightness and easy placement. It's a do-it-all display equally happy to serve up TV, streaming shows, live sports, video games, and 4K movies. The ultra-short-throw projector category is where all the action is the ..read more

Performance Features Ergonomics Value PRICE $3,500 AT A GLANCE Plus Ultra-wide color gamut Terrific lens for impressive focus Built-in (ATSC 1.0) tuner Minus No dynamic tone mapping Netflix not part of the Android bundle Tuner doesn’t support ATSC 3.0 THE VERDICT With its onboard streaming capability and TV tuner, the Hisense PX1-Pro comes about as close as you can to the proverbial “Home Theater in a Box” concept—one that that lets you savor big-screen fun without leaving home. Hisense is known by Sound & Vision cognoscenti as a brand taking ambitious steps to spotlight itself as an in ..read more

Performance Features Ergonomics Value PRICE $7,000 AT A GLANCE Plus Deep blacks Exceptional resolution Dynamic tone mapping Minus So-so remote control Dense owner's manual THE VERDICT With its exceptional overall performance, JVC's DLA-RS1100 projector defines the law of diminishing returns where increasingly subtle improvements command dramatically higher prices. True native 4K projectors have only been widely available — and reasonably affordable — for the past few years. Prior to that, most home projectors used a process called "pixel shifting" to produce 4K images: A 2K imaging device f ..read more

Performance Features Ergonomics Value PRICE $2,499 AT A GLANCE Plus Impressive contrast Flexible zoom and lens shift range Built-in streaming platform with HDMI eARC Minus Limited brightness necessitates dark room viewing Smart interface not for everyone THE VERDICT LG’s 4K laser DLP projector delivers impressive picture quality and value, but its limited brightness requires a dark room for best performance. LG has been at the vanguard in manufacturing "smart" projectors—models that, like more traditional offerings, sit at the back of the room and beam images to a separate screen, but also ..read more

Performance Features Ergonomics Value PRICE $5,499 AT A GLANCE Plus Excellent detail Vivid color reproduction Motorized focus, zoom, lens shift Minus Relatively limited light output No dynamic iris Basic HDR tone-mapping adjustment THE VERDICT Sony's entry-level full 4K projector delivers detailed, seamless images and is a great option for dedicated home movie theaters. Sony's projector lineup is notable for its use of the company's full 4K-resolution (4,096 x 2,160-pixel) SXRD (Sony-speak for LCOS) chips. It's also been notable for featuring a 5K model—5K as in $5,000, the price for the li ..read more